Sustainability Report Evolution

This chapter is a unique case study that aims to present the evolution of non-financial reporting in Nestlé Portugal from 2007 to 2016 with the aim to study in-depth the Nestlé sustainability report practices. This study proposes to identify the key milestones in the evolution of this type of report, to compare with the disclosure strategy of Nestlé international, to understand if this company follow the IIRC guidelines, to identify the contribution of the audit by an independent entity, to conclude if Nestlé contributes to the achieving of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and to identify if the awards Nestlé received matter in its sustainability initiatives. Public institutional information was preferably used, particularly the sustainability report and integrated report, processed with various work tools using the technique of content analysis. The conclusions made it possible to understand that Nestlé emerges as a company that integrates these issues into its strategy and can be a model for companies that wish to follow this report path towards sustainability.

Non-financial reporting in Spain. The effects of the adoption of the 2014 EU Directive

The Directive 2014/95/EU imposes new requirements regarding the disclosure of non-financial information (NFI). The aim of this paper is to analyse the NFI disclosed by Spanish listed companies. This is a pioneering study in Spain, since it was conducted during the first year in which NFI disclosure was mandatory, according to the requirements of the Spanish adaptation of Directive. We determine whether decisions on NFI reporting adopted in this respect (i.e. to do so within the management report or as a separate sustainability report) depend on the company’s characteristics. In addition, we consider whether the content of such reports differs significantly. Findings show that some Spanish companies do not disclose mandatory NFI. Larger and more profitable companies, which belong to specific sectors and have a sustainability committee, are more likely to disclose this information in a sustainability report. The contents of management and sustainability reports present significant differences. La Directiva 2014/95/UE impone nuevos requisitos en cuanto a la divulgación de información no financiera (IFN). El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la IFN divulgada por las empresas cotizadas españolas. Se trata de un estudio pionero en España, ya que se realizó durante el primer año en el que la divulgación de IFN era obligatoria, según los requisitos de la adaptación española a la mencionada Directiva. Determinamos si las decisiones sobre la presentación de la información no financiera adoptadas al respecto (es decir, hacerlo dentro del informe de gestión o como un informe de sostenibilidad independiente) dependen de las características de la empresa. Además, estudiamos si el contenido de dichos informes difiere significativamente. Los resultados muestran que algunas empresas españolas no divulgan la información no financiera obligatoria. Las empresas más grandes y rentables, que pertenecen a sectores específicos y que tienen un comité de sostenibilidad, son más propensas a divulgar esta información en un informe de sostenibilidad. Los contenidos de las memorias de gestión y de sostenibilidad presentan diferencias significativas.

A comprehensive study on the quality of sustainability reporting disclosure between Indonesia and other countries

The shift in the business paradigm towards a more sustainable one has placed a balance between people, profit and the planet as a corporate culture. However, based on previous empirical studies, very few companies have put sustainability as the soul of their business, especially in the types of industries that are not obliged to report their social responsibility activities. This study aims to compare the quality of the sustainability report based on the GRI G4 indicator for foreign and domestic companies engaged in construction services. The data was taken using a purposive method on construction service companies that published their 2017 sustainability reports and found 30 companies. The quality of the report is compared between the three indicators, namely economic, social and environmental. The results showed that in terms of quality of disclosure, there was no difference between domestic and foreign construction service companies, whether tested per category or tested collectively. The results of this study reinforce the previous finding that companies are still very dependent on the regulatory compliance approach only in implementing sustainability, especially in the construction service industry.

Fiscal sustainability and low interest rates: what an indicator can(’t) tell

The indicator that is commonly used to assess the long-term fiscal sustainability of public finances in EU member states (“S2”) is also defined if government borrowing rates are assumed to be permanently lower than the growth rate of GDP. Under these circumstances, however, it no longer provides a reliable orientation for fiscal policy. I illustrate these findings based on simulations prepared for the Fifth Sustainability Report published by the German Federal Ministry of Finance. In addition, I discuss the interpretation of the indicator in a low-interest environment and the assumption that relevant interest rates may continue to be low if there are substantial challenges for fiscal sustainability, e.g., through demographic ageing.

Ethical environment, accountability, and sustainability reporting: What is the connection in the hospitality and tourism industry?

Drawing on institutional theory, this study tests how the ethical behaviors of firms, in interaction with public officials and through the strength of accountability regulations, influence sustainability reporting practices in the hospitality and tourism (H&T) sector. The results indicate that firms operating in a highly ethical business environment are less likely than those in a less ethical environment to disclose a sustainability report. However, accountability yields the opposite result; firms established in environments characterized by high accountability are more likely than low accountability environments to issue a sustainability report, which implies a complementary effect between the strength of the accountability and the firms’ sustainability disclosures. This verifies that the weakness or strength of informal and formal institutional forces exert considerable influence on firms’ desire to carry out sustainability reporting. However, this influence is not true of the acquisition of external assurance statements and following Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, with which accountability has a negative and insignificant association, respectively.

THE IMPACT OF TAX AVOIDANCE, SUSTAINABILITY REPORT DISCLOSURE, AND EARNINGS MANAGEMENT ON FIRM VALUE IN THE DIGITAL ERA WITH CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AS A MODERATING VARIABLES

<p>This paper aims to determine whether tax avoidance, sustainability reporting, and earnings management affected firm value. Samples were collected from 80 companies listed on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI)between 2015 and 2019. This research is an explanatory study that employs a quantitative approach and purposive sampling as the sampling technique, using the Absolute Difference Value Method to examine the moderating variable’effect, and SPSS 23 to analyze the data. The finding indicate that while tax avoidance has no negative effect on firm value and Sustainability Report has no positive effect on firm value, earnings management have negative effects on firm value. Corporate Governance did not weaken the effect of tax avoidance on firm value, corporate governance did not strengthen the relationship between sustainability reports and firm value and Corporate Governance weakens the negative effect of earnings management on firm value. This paper contributes to three different strands of research:determinants of tax avoidance in Indonesia for government literature, evaluation, improve, improvement, and performance for companies;for investors, as it is wordthwhile to consider additional factors in order to aid in making an informed assessment of company’s value in this era of technology.</p>

The Effect of Company Characteristics and Sales Growth on Sustainability Report

The sustainability of manufacturing companies is still an issue for innovative business activities in meeting the needs of future generations. The problem that becomes the urgency of this research is that return on assets, leverage, and sales growth affects the sustainability report. For this reason, quantitative research with multiple regression analysis is carried out for testing and examining the effect of company characteristics and sales growth on the sustainability report. The data used in this study is secondary data in the form of financial statements of each sample company, namely manufacturing companies that have been audited to be reported to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) from 2015-2019. Measurements in company characteristics are measured by return on assets (ROA), Leverage, and company growth. The Technology Readiness Level (TKT) is a proof-of-concept of important analytical and experimental functions and/or characteristics. The output of this research design is an international journal. In this study, the results show that profitability and sales growth have a significant effect on the sustainability report and company size has no significant effect on the sustainability report.

Pessimistic Tone in Earnings Announcement and CSR Disclosure: Exploring the Interacting Role of CEO Busyness

This study analyzes the relationship between the pessimistic tone in earnings announcements and CSR disclosures interacted by CEO busyness. This study used 191 observations from 74 firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) database from 2016–2019. Grounded in signaling theory, we hypothesize that a pessimistic tone in earning announcements will increase CSR disclosure. We also hypothesize that busy CEOs strengthen this relationship. We use the ordinary least squares to analyze and answer our hypotheses. This study showed that the use of a pessimistic tone in the income statement in the discussion report and management analysis (MD&A) is related positively and significantly to CSR disclosure. This study also found that busy CEOs strengthen those relationships. Our implication is that CSR disclosure in our sample is only measured based on the information presented in the sustainability report. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the relationship between the pessimistic tone in earning announcements and CSR disclosures interacted by CEO busyness. In addition, this study provides insight into current performance disclosure practices in MD&A reports and CSR reports that managers can use to safeguard the firm’s reputation.

Disclosure of innovation on sustainability report

PurposeThere are several studies on various aspects of the disclosure of companies but there is little research on elements related to the disclosure of innovation in particular. The work aims to fill this important gap by examining to what extent the companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, which prepare the sustainability report (non-financial declaration – NFS), disseminate information relating to innovative activities.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology used to achieve the research goal has used multiple linear regression models (OLS), to study the factors that influence disclosure. The data were collected through the content analysis. The sample is made up of 171 companies listed on the Italian stock exchange which prepared a sustainability report for the period of four years 2016–2019 (Sustainability Reports and Integrated Documentation) and which contain information on innovative activity.FindingsThe research confirms a positive relationship between information on innovation and the economic variables of corporate investment. In addition, an important relationship emerges linked to the disclosure of innovative information and the business sector, innovation investments and R&D activity.Research limitations/implicationsThe work suffers from some limitations: the short period of observation subject to analysis, the lack of sustainability report 2020, the extension of the variables taken into consideration for the implementation of the regression models; it is desirable to consider a wider pool of variables in the future in order to implement further specific tests.Practical implicationsOn a practical level, the research suggests the adoption of a framework on the dissemination of innovative activity that allows easy reading of information (regardless of the sector and company size), built starting from the most representative keywords of the activities innovative, to be included in a specific section of the Sustainability Report. This work contributes to filling a cognitive gap connected to the disclosure of the innovative activity. There is much research on disclosure related to business activities, but no specific research regarding the communication of innovation.Originality/valueThe study conducted contributes to fill a gap in the literature related to the disclosure of the innovative activity. The latter is a strategic element for effective and clear communication with stakeholders.